Fika

Since I arrived in Uppsala I got to learn a lot about the Swedish people and their culture. For example, Swedish people love to fika! Fika is a kind of a coffee break, in the Netherlands we can do such things in a rush, but the Swedish people really take the time for that kind of stuff. In Sweden you can find really cozy coffee shops to go for a fika. When you enter those coffee shops it’s like you walk into your grandparents living room. It’s amazing to see how many pies and different kinds of muffins they have. You feel like a child in a candy store!! Since I have been here, I go for fika almost every week (if it is not twice a week :P), and it is a very nice thing to do with your friends, you can just sit and talk, and enjoy your pie and coffee.

Another funny thing about the Swedish people is that their lunch break is also very important. In the Netherlands we just eat sandwiches, but the Swedish people always have boxes with them which they can warm up in one of the kitchens at the University building. All over the University building you can find a lot of microwaves. We almost felt strange that we were just sitting with our sandwiches, while everybody is eating pasta or rice.

In these four weeks I learned a lot about the Swedish people, and I really love to learn more about them. Luckily I still have three months to discover a lot about them!